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Review and Photos by Matt Schwenke
With their new album Bleed Like Me released just weeks ago, Garbage took the stage at the Eagles Ballroom to a rousing reception from the crowd. As the spot lights focused on Shirley Manson at the front of the stage, her hair glowed a fiery red, and the singer from Scotland began to serenade the crowd with a complex mix of moods and personas. Fueled by the equally complex mix of loops, samples, effects, and intense playing by guitarists Duke Erikson and Steve Marker and drummer Butch Vig, Garbage entertained the ears, the mind, and the eyes with well-crafted sounds, lyrics, and lighting effects.
Whether Manson portrayed a princess of pop or a vixen of rock, she was captivating and believable somehow as both. Displaying this artistic dichotomy in the popular hit "Stupid Girl," Manson skipped around the stage during the lighter parts, but would snap into a rock-like stance and scream in the mic as the guitars changed the mood. In a more serious moment during the show, the band played "When I Grow Up" and dedicated it to a fan and friend who had recovered from a serious illness. The performance was dynamic and heart-felt.
Changing gears again with the title track from the new album, the band stirred up a dark and mysterious background of sound to which Manson sang broodingly over top. Taking off from there, the pulse of the show kept rising as guitars shredded, cymbals crashed, and at one point Manson even laid down on stage and sang while writhing to the guitars' cascading notes. Noteables from the night were powerful versions of "I Think I'm Paranoid," "Push It," and the classic "Only Happy When It Rains."
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